According to the PAP’s constitution, the CEC shall consist of not more than 18 members. A total of 12 must be elected at the party conference, while up to six others can be co-opted.
Other co-opted members, as well as specific appointments within the committee – such as chairman, secretary-general, treasurer and organising secretaries – will be announced in the weeks ahead. In 2022, this took 20 days.
Cabinet ministers missing from the ballot for the 38th CEC were Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, who was appointed deputy prime minister in Mr Wong’s first Cabinet earlier this year, and Minister in the PMO Maliki Osman.
Mr Gan was previously the party’s chairman from 2018 to 2020, before being succeeded by Mr Heng.
The outgoing CEC numbered 17 members, after the departure of former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, who resigned from parliament and the party after an extramarital affair.
The party earlier held its awards ceremony on Saturday, in an event which paid tribute to outgoing secretary-general Mr Lee for his years of service and the party’s 70th anniversary.
